Icariin immobilized electrospinning poly(l-lactide) fibrous membranes via polydopamine adhesive coating with enhanced cytocompatibility and osteogenic activity.

In this study, icariin (ICA), one of the main active ingredients of Herba Epimedii for osteogenesis, was applied to functionalize electrospinning poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) fibrous membrane via an intermediate layer of polydopamine (PDA) to obtain enhanced cytocompatibility and osteogenic activity. For this purpose, an array of PDA-coated PLLA fibrous membranes (PLLA-0.5PDA, PLLA-1PDA, PLLA-2PDA, PLLA-5PDA) and ICA-modified PLLA-2PDA fibrous membranes (PLLA-2PDA-10ICA, PLLA-2PDA-20ICA, PLLA-2PDA-40ICA) were successively prepared. Successful modification of PDA and ICA onto PLLA fibrous membranes was verified by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Besides, the hydrophilicity as well as tensile properties of PLLA fibrous membrane were improved after surface modified with PDA and ICA. In vitro cells culture experiments revealed that the adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells on the PLLA fibrous membrane were significantly improved by successively immobilized with PDA and ICA. Moreover, the concentration of ICA immobilized on the fibrous membranes has the complicated effects on the MC3T3-E1 cells behavior. The PLLA-2PDA-ICA fibrous membranes with low ICA concentration promoted the cell adhesion and proliferation, but on the contrary, those with high ICA concentration were more beneficial to the enhancement in ALP activity and calcium deposition.